North Korea claims to have launched missile from submarine – archyworldys

North Korea claimed Wednesday, October 20, to have launched a ballistic missile from a submarine, which, if the information was confirmed, would allow this nuclear-weapon country to have a second strike capability. This test could constitute a considerable technological advance at a time when the two Koreas, still technically at war, seem to be engaged in an arms race and that the dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang is at a standstill.

The official North Korean agency KCNA announced on Wednesday that Pyongyang had successfully tested a “New type” ballistic missile launched by a submarine. The weapon is equipped with “Many advanced control and guidance technologies”, according to KCNA, which claims it was fired from the same submarine, the “8.24 Yongung”, than that used by the country during its first test of a strategic sea-to-surface ballistic missile (SLBM) five years ago.

Pyongyang has already carried out two submarine launches in 2016 and 2019, but the Pentagon and analysts believe they were carried out from a submerged platform. The South Korean army said on Tuesday that the device launched was an SLBM fired from Sinpo, in eastern North Korea, towards the sea. The missile traveled about 590 kilometers at a maximum altitude of about 60 kilometers, a source told Agence France-Presse.

Emergency meeting at the UN

If the new missile was successfully fired from an active submarine, it would mark a new stage for the North Korean arsenal, with the possibility of deployment well beyond the Korean peninsula, and a capacity of second strike in the event of an attack on its military bases. The UN Security Council therefore plans to meet urgently behind closed doors Wednesday afternoon, at the request of the United Kingdom and the United States, according to diplomats.

The White House stressed the new launch was a threat that only underscored the need ” urgent “ dialogue with Pyongyang, but also its commitment “Unshakeable” to help defend South Korea and Japan. North Korea is hit with a series of sanctions by the UN because it continues to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles in contravention of its resolutions.

Kim Jong-un had met with previous US President Donald Trump on three occasions, but talks have stalled since the second summit in 2019 due to lack of agreement on international sanctions relief and actions Pyongyang was ready to concede in return. In 2017, Pyongyang tested missiles that could reach all over the United States and carried out its most powerful nuclear test to date.